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A Third Win for Keat and a First for Appleton at IRONMAN 70.3 Canberra

It proved a triple treat for Rebekah Keat, while young gun Sam Appleton scored his first win at IRONMAN 70.3 Canberra.

5-4-3-2-1 .... Heading into IRONMAN 70.3 Canberra, Sam Appleton had filled every spot but the top rung on the podium this year. The 23-year-old fixed that with an impressive breakthrough victory at IRONMAN 70.3 Canberra today.

While it was a first for Appleton, the experienced Rebekah Keat bagged her third victory this year over the IRONMAN 70.3 distance to add to her podium finish at IRONMAN Mont-Tremblant.

Appleton runs to the title

Appleton, who has placed fifth, fourth twice, third and second this year, was among a group of young Australian prospects including IRONMAN 70.3 Japan winner James Hodge and the consistent Michael Fox who pushed hard to open a one minute advantage after the 1.9 km swim. The trio worked hard together to head into T2 with a 1:14 buffer on the chasers.

Appleton made his move early to establish a 55-second lead after the first of three laps on the run and from there was too strong. His 1:14.36 effort over the 21.1 km run provided his long-awaited victory over the distance.

The Blue Mountains-athlete won in 3:54.54 to finish 3:50 ahead of Matthew Pellow, who ran up from the chase pack, while Hodge hung on for third from John Polson, the best runner in 1:14.28, after coming off the bike more than six minutes adrift.

Appleton said the coaching move to top athlete Tim Reed has proved a key.

"He has worked wonders with me. I have made such strides since I’ve changed to Tim," says Appleton. "I’m pretty happy with that. I’ve had every placing from fifth up this year without a win. I think experience plays a big part in these races and I am learning. I’m hoping this will really give me the confidence going forward."

He said there won’t be much time for Christmas cheer as he prepares for the IRONMAN 70.3 Asia Pacific Championship in Auckland next month.

Keat all the way

Queensland’s Keat was the class of the field, coming out of the water with age grouper Lauren Parker at the front of the field, extending that to a 6:45 lead off the bike and clearing out on the run to win in 4:25.57.

There was 8:32 back to Madeleine Oldfield, who was 2:26 behind out of the water, but pushed through the field with the second best bike (2:32.59) and fifth best run (1:28.28).

It proved an excellent professional debut at the distance for Queensland’s Kym Jaenke, who claimed third place after turning to the paid ranks last month. The IRONMAN age group world champion was fourth out of the water, third off the bike and remained in that spot holding off Polly Mosley by nearly four minutes.